The present invention relates to energy absorbing devices, and more particularly to energy absorbers for attenuating high accelerations such as are caused by aircraft or other vehicle crashes.
For greater protection of, and reduction of injuries sustained by, seated pilots and passengers in aircrat or other conveyances or vehicles during potentially survivable crash environments, a proper energy absorber should be installed between the seat and the body of the vehicle. Such a device must not transmit acceleration levels that are injurious to the subject. However, most energy absorbers currently available, such as commercially available shock absorbers, are designed to protect rigid payloads, not dynamic systems such as are humans, and so would not adequately protect a seated man from high impact loads such as those occurring during a potentially survivable crash. Such available devices stroke at a constant force level, producing a constant force over their stroke length.